Over fifty years ago the Indian adept Swami Rama changed the history of medical education … or at least should have.
He was invited to the Menninger Institute in the 1960’s to assess the influence that his years of yogic training had had on his physiology. He was able to demonstrate a degree of control over bodily processes … like heartbeat, blood pressure and body temperature … that were considered impossible by western medical standards.
These changes in physiology showed that it was possible to exert ‘conscious’ control over autonomic (automatic) nervous system functions. He was controlling bodily processes … like blood pressure … that were thought to be unconscious and automatic.
The experience the Menninger people had with Swami Rama led to the development of Biofeedback technology. Biofeedback is a drug free approach to reprogramming the autonomic nervous system (ANS) … and the bodily processes that it controls.
It may help to understand just what upsets the delicate balance of the ANS in the first place … that leads to deleterious changes in your physiology. Stress … or unfinished emotional experience … or emotional energy … is the primary culprit that disturbs ANS functioning.
This understanding helps us to appreciate the mechanisms underlying most illness and the importance of the National Institutes of Health research showing that the stress response is responsible for 85% of all doctor and hospital visits.
For me, this information also emphasizes the importance a self-regulation practice can have to put us more effectively and confidently in charge of our own health.
I use a form of biofeedback assessment in my office call Heart Rate Variability. It’s helpful to show an individual with the aid of computer technology how subtle changes in their attention and breathing can dramatically influence the functioning of their autonomic nervous system (ANS) … and ultimately their overall health and well-being.
It’s often very helpful to have our own inner healing powers validated by something as objective as a medical computer software. This validation also often leads to more enthusiastic and consistent self-regulation practice.
However, biofeedback equipment isn’t really necessary since our bodies come with an organic form of biofeedback software pre-installed.
A feeling like anxiety that I may experience as a not so pleasant sensation in my torso is the equivalent of a ringing bell on a biofeedback machine. The felt experience of anxiety is a feedback signal alerting me to the fact that my ANS is out of balance.
It is also an invitation to ‘notice and breathe’. This noticing and breathing … when done correctly … will lead to the balancing of my ANS and help to prevent or reverse changes in my bodily function that may otherwise warrant medical intervention.
To summarize … our bodies come equipped with self-balancing and self-healing mechanisms (that I refer to as Self-Regulating) that we can learn to activate. In order to do this we are required to get to know ourselves a bit better … from the inside out. And this takes some practice.
The benefits of this Self-regulating practices will allow you to support your overall health and well-being in ways that defy conventional medical wisdom. Self-regulation practices will enhance the effectiveness of natural therapies and drug therapies alike … since the practices are activating your very own inner healing mechanisms.
Steven Templin, D.O.M., Dipl. Ac., is a Doctor of Oriental Medicine and nationally certified acupuncturist, specializing in Energy Medicine, Mind-Body Medicine, Diet and Nutrition to repair the Gut-Immune-Brain Axis, and Self-Regulation training.
In his Self-Regulation training program he shares the science and most importantly the effective practices for transforming physical health and emotional well-being. These practices will greatly enhance the effectiveness of any other therapeutic interventions.
He teaches and consults online, and sees patients at the Natural Medicine Center in Lakeland, Florida.
You can learn more about Dr. Templin and his healing program by visiting www.newmedicalmodel.com.
Steve is a retired Doctor of Oriental Medicine, Acupuncture Physician, and HeartMath Trauma-Sensitive Certified Practitioner with over 35 years of clinical experience in Energy Medicine, Energy Psychology, and Biofeedback.